


Tied To Your Apron Strings

by BarbarianLibrarian



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: AU, Brothers, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Issues, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 04:24:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarbarianLibrarian/pseuds/BarbarianLibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako isn't taking Bolin and Korra's newfound relationship well, but not out of simple jealousy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tied To Your Apron Strings

He tries to ignore the sound of mixed laughter echoing down the hallway. Bolin’s room is only separated from his own by their shared bathroom, so Mako’s taken to staying over at Shin’s apartment or sleeping downstairs in the living room when Korra spends the night. It was hard enough to see his sibling drift away and become fully independent, so he definitely knows he can’t handle even thinking about the brunette engaging in typical exploration that hormones naturally bring out in men their age.

Once Korra and Mako had connected over sparring regularly at Toza’s gym, he thought that things would change for the better. That they would be good friends, if somewhat awkward around one another- she was the one dating his _little brother_ after all. For a few months, they barely saw one another due to Mako’s work at the Satomobile garage, but whenever he  _was_  home, he couldn’t shake this mounting irritation with everything she did.

She put her feet on the table, ate a ton of food (never intending to replace it, of course), her voice was loud enough that he couldn’t escape it even with his headphones on- normally, he could suck it up and be a gracious host. He’d dealt with worse from his ‘best friend’ (Shin Woo committed around the same crimes, with only a scolding or a weak slap upside the head from him), who was quickly beginning to grow tired of his constant bitching and ever worsening attitude.

"I just don’t think Korra’s all that serious about Bolin, is all. You know how he gets- he’s already picked their wedding theme in his head, while she’s just happy to have a friends with benefits arrangement whenever she needs the emotional pick me up. He think he’d be better off with someone more mature…" he trails off, yelping when Shin yanked the wheeled dollie beneath him out from under the customized sport model they were tuning up.

The elder male sacks Mako in the gut with a cold bottle of  _Tsingtao_ , tossing the bottle opener attached to his bike keychain at the firebender’s head.   
"I don’t remember signin’ up to fix your Mama Hen issues, so can it about Miss Muscles, would’ya? Your bro’s an adult and he’s finally gotten his dick wet- Spirits be fuckin’ praised, I thought he’d be cloistered away in that shithole ‘till he was thirty. Even if she’s not prepared to become Bolin’s old lady, that ain’t up to you or him. She can do what she wants an’ who she wants. So cut the apron strings already and stop fussin’ after him, you knew he wasn’t gonna be hiding under yer skirts forever."

Shin’s bony ass digs into Mako’s groin none too gently and he wriggles around to get comfortable for good measure as the taller man grunts and makes wet cat faces.   
"So you’ll have to put up with her sweatin’ and jock-rockin’ all over him for another few months, if she’s havin’ her fun. If you don’t wanna piss Bolin off even more than you already have, no doubt, then just put up and shut up. And if you’re gonna be lurking around my place, then keep a lid on what they may or may not be up to, I’m gonna go fuckin’ crazy and throw myself into Yue Bay if I hear another damn word about it."

Mako sighs and averts his eyes, setting the ice cold beer to the left of his greasy toolbox. Shin was right- He couldn’t police Bolin or Korra and it really was none of his business. He just didn’t understand why it had to be so hard letting his brother just… have a life that didn’t involve _him_ , for once. He knew this had been a long time coming, but that didn’t make it any easier.

"Yeah, I got it. Sorry. Thanks for the beer," he mutters, trying to ignore the gentle rocking motions against his loins and the slow, easy smile worming it’s way across Shin’s lower jaw. "I’m already drinking on the job, I don’t wanna add anything else to the list, alright? We’re both closing tonight, anyway."

"Fine, fine- not like the Boss’ll give a shit, you big girl," Woo cedes with a shrug of his shoulders. He wipes a long smear of axel grease down the side of Mako’s face and gives his right cheekbone a firm slap, before getting to his feet.

\--

It’s not like we wants to do  _this_ kind of stuff with Bolin. The thought of it makes him sick to his stomach, not that he’s ever seriously considered that might be why he’s so unwilling to accept Korra’s presence in his life. He’s rougher than usual, not that Shin’s complaining at all, the both of them panting hard as their rough, calloused fingers dig into each other's shoulders and the damp sheets below. Mako finds he's unable to even focus on the slick heat of the moment or the white-out sense of calm suffusing each nerve when he reaches completion- not without a lingering sourness still hovering in the back of his mind.

_Have Bolin and Korra already...?_

He watches the thin wisps of cigarette smoke snakes towards the ceiling and listens to the steady patter of rain against the stone roof tiles afterwards and wonders if it’s simply the closeness he’ll miss when Bolin does decide to finally take that next step into adulthood. Coming home to an empty duplex and no messages on the phone, no dirty clothes littering the living room he’ll have to wordlessly clean up without complaint. If he’ll have to cope with being the only one still clinging to happier times when all that mattered in the world was each other. In his heart, he knows that their bond is too strong to fade with time and responsibilities of separate lives, but it still doesn’t make the inevitable easier to swallow.

For now, he can try to tell himself it’ll be fine- That he’ll be the best man at his brother’s future wedding and the offical ‘second mom’ to a boatload of kids that Bolin’s always dreamed of having. Maybe they won’t be as dependent on each other as before, but that doesn’t have to be a  _bad_  thing. Maybe it was finally time that he needed to focus on his ownhappiness.

Frowning and stubbing out the dog end of his cigarette in a nearby jade ashtray, Mako closed his eyes and tried to ignore that gnawing, pervasive dread in the pit of his stomach.

It had always been easier to worry about the results of his brother’s life choices than his own.


End file.
